Silay City - Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ayala Corporation, led the signing of the formal partnership agreement between Text2Teach Alliance and 13 Local Government Units involving the commitment of P8 million LGU counterpart funding for the Text2Teach (T2T) program.

At the same time, Toshiba Corporation donated 300 32-inch TV sets worth about P4.2 million for the schools while the T2T Alliance allocated P13 million.

With the Memorandum of Agreement, T2T will be implemented in 172 schools in Visayas in addition to the existing 128 schools, bringing the program to a total of 300 public elementary schools in the region. To date, T2T has reached 736 schools across the country.

The 13 LGUs are: Bacolod Ciy, Silay City, TalisayCity, La Carlota City, and Bago City in Negros Occidental; Bayawan City, Guihulngan City, and Bais City in Negros Oriental, Naga City and Talisay City in Cebu; the municipality of Laua-an in Antique; the municipality of Malay in Aklan; and Siquijor province.

T2T is an innovative way of teaching English, Science, Math and Values Education via mobile technology. Educational audio and video materials are provided in phones donated by Nokia equipped with the Nokia Education Delivery application which allows easy download even in far-flung areas via Globe Telecom mobile data. Globe also created a special SIM card for the schools which only charges half of regular call and text rates.

“We’re proud to say that with all your support, we’re one year ahead of schedule in implementing the program in the Visayas. It is only through the use of technology, and additional help from local governments, that the private sector can continue to give support. Many of our great leaders have come from the public school system and it is our responsibility as private sector groups to also do what we can to keep in helping the Department of Education in that respect,” said Zobel as he addressed the representatives from the government and private sector during the signing and turnover ceremonies.

He added: “It is also a pleasure for us to contribute in some small way with the use of technology. We in the whole Ayala Group are excited in working closely with you and in helping the educational system of the country for the generations that are to come, and for the leaders that are to come out. To be able to work together to add value to our country means so much to all of us.”

Incidentally, Silay City and La Carlota in Negros Occidental become the second and third LGUs respectively, in the country to have all its public elementary schools connected to T2T, after Ligao City in Ilocos Norte. Silay has 31 public elementary schools while La Carlota has 25. Ligao has 49.

“We believe that school location should never be a barrier to better facilities and advances in teaching methods. Quality education should be accessible to all. The feedback from school administrators, teachers, parents and students about the T2T project are very positive. There has been a remarkable improvement in the students’ understanding of the subject matter in English, Science and Math. Because of this, we decided for a full-swing implementation to cover all public elementary schools in our city,” said Silay City Mayor Jose L. Montelibano, Jr. Silay is currently in the second year of project implementation, initially piloting it in 12 public elementary schools in the rural areas which have very limited access to information technology.

Montelibano added: “Before, when you come from a public school, you are being looked down. When we talk of better facilities we think of the private and exclusive schools. Now, our public schools are very competitive. Information technology is the new universal language and our students are very fluent in that. With the initiatives of the LGUs and the assistance of the private sectors, public school students have gained self-confidence because they know they also have the knowledge and the skills that are sound and sometimes better. Indeed, information technology bridges that educational divide.”

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